The Princess And The Lord

1249  Array Master

Upstairs Zhao Li Xin was meticulously sharpening his new sword in slow motion, his expression was placid and icy like the surface of the winter lake. His movements momentarily halted later a faint smile spread across his cold face, and slowly he cast his eyes at the door.

The truth is, Zhao Li Xin had been listening to the conversation below all this time. With his current cultivation, it wasn't difficult to hear the conversation below, moreover, Lory and the others also didn't try to hide their conversation so Zhao Li Xin could hear them clearly.

Zhao Li Xin heard their shock when they found out he would be exploring the labyrinth alone for a month, he was confused as to why they were so shocked. He thought it wasn't strange to test their abilities to the limit to improve their abilities, otherwise, how would the people in this world increase their power?

What Zhao Li Xin didn't understand was that in this world people wouldn't play with their lives just to increase their power, unlike in the cultivator's world, people in this world weren't obsessed with gaining great power so only a very few people were crazy enough dare to do so and now Zhao Li Xin has been included among these few people.

However, compared to the past, Zhao Li Xin was more confident, not only was he older now but he also had more experience and a healthier body compared to when he first started cultivating so he wasn't worried about exploring the labyrinth alone, he even planned on eliminating the foolish assassins group who dare hunted Lory into the labyrinth, who knows he might be able to get some important information from them.

Zhao Li Xin examined his work carefully, even though this sword was not as good as the sword he made, for now, this sword was enough to meet his needs. Zhao Li Xin intently examined the edge of the sword which had been dull and rough.

After that, Zhao Li Xin placed two fingers on the surface of the sword and then slowly traced the surface of the sword to ensure there was no damage left. After being satisfied with the results, Zhao Li Xin sheathed the sword again and then leaned it against the wall.

Zhao Li Xin then took the tablet from the table then continued his study about the beast, he learned the weaknesses and the strengths of the beast including their behavior and habitat after reading this far he reminiscence the past and how Lory always seem to have meticulous preparation whenever they were going to venture dangerous place, how she able to remain calm and cool-headed when facing beasts, He guessed this was caused by habits accumulated after frequently entering this kind of place.

Even though Lory has often talked about her past, after reading the information in this book, Zhao Li Xin can imagine how difficult this is for teenagers, especially girls like Lory. Zhao Lixin was even more sure that Lory covered up a lot of her experiences so that she didn't feel sad.

He swiped the tablet and a picture appeared of Lory and Lucas appearing formally at the Arts Gala. In the picture, Lory looks younger than when he first met her at Lao Manor. In the picture she wore a luxurious dark purple crystal evening gown with a long chiffon robe, her hair was styled into a clean high bun, and she wore nothing but teardrop pearl earrings that accentuated her long fair neck. Because she's still young she only wears minimal makeup making her look innocent and frail like a real fairy, at least that's how Lory looks in Zhao Li Xin's eyes.

Looking at Lory's appearance, it wasn't strange that no one thought how strong she was even if they heard rumors about her, they might refuse to believe it, Zhao Li Xin admired whoever constructed this image for Lory, which he was sure not only to preserve the dignity as the royal family.

Someone must have planned this to create a harmless image to protect her so that the enemy would subconsciously gloss over her until it was too late for them.

'Smart' Zhao Li Xin thought.

He suddenly remembered that there were many concubines in the imperial palace who covered themselves with such methods to let the enemy let their guard down, but unfortunately, they could not defend themselves like Lory when their disguise was exposed, therefore concubines could only pretend to be docile for as long as they could until hopefully they give birth to sons for the emperor.

He looked at the ceiling and then let out a long heave, life in the imperial palace felt like hundreds of years to the point it felt like other people's life experiences. Zhao Li Xin shook his head to get rid of the useless memory. he raised from the chair then moved to the bed he pulled his legs up then sat cross-legged into a lotus position.

Slowly he took a few breaths, then on the third breath, he took a deep breath and then closed his eyes. A moment later, his eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly wing, and all of a sudden the sounds around him disappeared, everything became stagnant as if time had stopped, and then he found himself floating in darkness.

He remained calm because he had experienced this before, Zhao Li Xin knew he was in the space of his own mind. Not long after, a long thin light appeared like a thread, then another thread of light appeared, then another and another and another until an infinite number of them intertwined like tangled threads.

Zhao Li Xin untangled one of the thin threads, then another, and another, the more he untangled the thread, the more tired he became but he refused to stop after a few hours his focus began to weaken, his inner vision began to blur followed by his heart beating uncontrollably as if it was about to explode, actually it was his body that was sending a warning to him!

Zhao Li Xin's eyes snapped open, his shoulder slumped as he panted profusely as if he had run for miles, his body and face were drenched with sweat until his t-shirt soaked. Finally, he entered the first level of array master, the consciousness stage.

He took a deep breath to regulate his breathing after calming down, he took off his soaked t-shirt then went to the bathroom with unsteady steps, he took a quick shower cleaned himself then took the bathrobe, after that, he dropped his weak body to the soft bed as he has used his last strength to take a shower.

Zhao Li Xin had shortened the process which needed at least two days to finish in just a few hours so of course, he was exhausted. Thankfully his body was much healthier cause If he was in the condition he was before he met Lory, this process would've killed him.

However, his efforts were not in vain because he had entered the first stage of the Array Master, namely the consciousness stage. After this, he was sure that he would soon be able to enter the second stage, namely the perception stage.

The sooner he mastered the master array, the sooner he would want to repair his spatial ring, but to do that he would have to at least reach the transcendence stage alone. to repair half of the mystic realm and it would take more effort, but that was a problem for tomorrow because right now what he needed the most is rest.

Meanwhile, the discussion downstairs continued, Garrof was utterly dumbfounded after he received the news that Zhao Li Xin would explore the Labyrinth for a month moreover he would be alone without anyone even the A-class hunter would not enter without company, at least they would bring a partner.

"Are you okay to leave your husband alone for a month down there?" Garrof looks worriedly at Lory.

Lory propped her chin and pouted, "To be honest, I don't feel comfortable letting him go alone, but what can I do? You know gorgeous people can be so stubborn!"

Lory felt conflicted on the one hand she believed in Zhao Li Xin's abilities and tenacity but on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel worried for him, luckily she had prepared an emergency route for her otherwise she didn't know if she could function when he wasn't around.

"You're right, no wonder you're so easily persuaded" Garrof mocked as he glanced at Lloyd.

Lloyd scoffed "You think you are gorgeous?" he looked at Garrof in disgust.

"Well everyone said I was quite stubborn" he smugly said.

"That's because you are stupid" Lloyd sneered.

Garrof's brows twitched "Who dared to say that!"

Lloyd huffed, "I am!"

"YOU!" Garrof growled.

Lory nonchalantly waves her hand "Calm down gorgeous, we need to think about the preparation to enter Brinwell"

Lloyd glared at Garrof for embarrassing him before speaking in a serious tone "Since it's the Luxemborough country it would not be easy," "Would the forged identification from Jason be enough to trick the Luxemborough immigration post?" Lory expresses her doubt.

Garrof leaned to the table while folding his arms "Nope, that won't be enough, they become quite strict lately..."

"What about the hidden road in the south border?" Lory heard about the route that illegal immigrants usually take to enter Luxemborough.

Garrof shakes his head, "No, can't do it!" He said with a wry expression "It's still work a few years ago, well, we all know it's not truly 'hidden' but recently they imposed 'Shoot to killed' policy for any illegal immigrant that tries to enter the border" "They're tightening the border now?" Lory frowned.

As far as Luxemborough doesn't really allow illegal immigrants into its place because it is profitable for human traffickers who want to sell these poor people to people who don't want to get free labor, as well as people who use them as organ donors. illegal and the worst thing is these human traffickers work with several Luxemborough government agencies, especially Argus.

Therefore, Lory is confused about why illegal immigrants are no longer allowed to enter the border. It couldn't be because they start to grow a conscience, right?

"They're probably afraid someone might find something in their country" Lloyd utters.

Lory's eyes narrow 'Someone like Noxcra'

Garrof sighed "Whatever it is, we need to find another way to enter Luxemborough,"